Dreams and Snow - One is Inescapable, the Other Is Unachievable

Once again I'm dreaming of a new set of cookware. Every year the set of titanium cookware I've been dreaming about goes on MAJOR sale, but it's still VERY expensive, and I simply don't have the extra cash to buy it. As usual, I've chosen the set that I want, and as usual, I'll dream about it for a few days and then shelve the dream again for another year. I know it's healthier to use titanium for my cookware than my the old stainless steel with Teflon coating (micro-plastics are NOT healthy, and Teflon coatings are micro-plastics in your food). But, to get the full set I want in titanium would be close to $1000 and I just don't have the money right now. But a girl in the kitchen can dream, right? 

When we get a solid snowfall, it's a PITA to get our very long 
driveway shoveled. I'm just grateful that the storm hit over 
Saturday night because I had the tine to deal with shoveling on 
Sunday without trying to get everything done in 30 minutes to 
get to the gym on time. 

My next door neighbor was a total sweetheart yesterday, he snow blowed the bottom third of my driveway for me before he headed to church. He texted me that he snow blew the street part of my driveway so we wouldn't get stuck if we were coming or going. I texted him back, thanking him VERY much for the kindness since it still took me over an hour to get the driveway shoveled. 

It's a lot faster and a lot easier to snow blow the snow away 
than to shovel it. However, our snowblower is quite large 
and intimidating, and just getting it out of the garage is a 
task. I just looked at it carefully and decided I would skip 
it and shovel instead. A lot more work and a lot harder on 
my body, but the shovel is very understandable. 

Shoveled? You might be thinking what about the huge snow blower that we have in the garage? Well, although DH has taught me how to start it several times, I'm totally intimidated by that machine, I can't even get it out of the corner of the garage to start it up. No ... it's me and my little green shovel tackling the driveway, and we had 6" minimum of snow all the way down. A LOT of snow to move. It took me more than an hour to get it cleared, and I was thankful every step of it that Chris had been kind and taking the time to help me out. 

I strained the upper part of my thigh 
while shoveling yesterday and it hurts! 
It's better today than it was yesterday, but 
it's still complaining. *sigh* I sometimes 
really hate getting old. LOL

But, with all of the shoveling, I strained my thigh muscles in my right leg and they're hurting right now. I still have to shovel out the front of the shop. Hopefully Kevin, a local Native guy who show blows for my next door neighbor (and always makes it just that little bit more to get a coming and going pass for me at no charge) was doing his thing yesterday. If so, I'll only have to cut in a walkway from my door to the street so that customers can access the sidewalk without having to walk in the street. I hope I'm up to doing that. I'm hurting today from yesterday's exertions. 

So, on that note, I'm wrapping this up, drinking a nice cup of tea, having breakfast, and heading out to the shop. I don't want to try and shovel rushed - I'm not really able to be "Speedy Gonzalez" today. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Today Will NOT Be a Great Day

Today is a really long day, and I'm not really sure how I'm going to manage. It's a usual work day, and I think I'm able to work - not at full efficiency, but I can be there for Chickie. After work, however, DH and I have an appointment at our Accountant's for the corporate taxes. I have no idea why DH wants me along, but he does, and he's insistent. I'd rather crawl back into bed. 

I feel absolutely awful right now. I don't want to go to the 
breast center today when I have an appointment already for 
tomorrow, but it's really tempting. 

I felt so awful and in so much pain yesterday that I "stormed the doors" of my breast clinic. They plugged me in right away, though, had several people see me, eventually doing an ultrasound and a fluid biopsy. They pulled almost 30ml of fluid from under my armpit. No wonder it was hurting. I was wrapped up and told to keep a compression bandage on it at all times until my checkup on Wednesday. 

These guys are great! Really! My cancer seems to want 
to make itself known in many different ways, however. 
It's a problem child. LOL

Well, the first person who wrapped me up in a stretch bandage did a horrid job - it didn't even stay put for the drive back home. I re-wrapped it then, and thought I had done fairly well, but this morning, everything is pure hurt again. But today I have to work, and then I have an appointment with our tax accountant for our corporate taxes. I can't miss that. I re-wrapped it better, and hopefully that will work for a long day. 

Today is NOT a good day. I've got shooting pains 
from my shoulder to my wrist, and the hematoma that 
they drained yesterday is back full-strength today. I have 
an appointment tomorrow am, so I'll hang on until 
then, but I'm not a really happy person right now. 

I'm losing a lot of weight because I simply don't feel like eating anything. That's not really conducive to healing, so I have to try and work on that. But if I don't feel like eating, it's hard to force myself - you know? I'm just trying to hang on until tomorrow morning when I'm back at the breast center. But today ... well today is not going to be a great day. Take care of yourselves and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Ouch ... Just Ouch!

I'm officially going on record that I HURT. The breast is great, but those damned lymph nodes under the arm ... well, let's just say "great" is about as far away from how I'm feeling as I can possibly get. I left a message for Chickie to please come in and work for me today, and I also messaged Claire, telling her I had done that. It's only 5:30 am, and I don't think I can actually phone either of them until 8:00 am. I want to be at the Breast Center ASAP this morning for an unscheduled consult. 

I don't have an appointment, which might be a problem. But 
I have nowhere else to turn, so I'll be at the Breast Center
 as soon as I can get there this morning. 

I finally found a way I can sleep for a few hours, though, so that's a win. We have a Lay-Z-Boy recliner in our study that I bought for DH as a holiday gift decades ago. He doesn't like it - was very dissatisfied with it. But right now, after I cleared various boxes of crap off the seat, it's absolutely perfect for me to actually get some sleep on. I'll be doing that nightly while I'm healing. It's the first decent night's sleep I've gotten in almost two weeks. 

I'm in some serious hurt today. I wouldn't have 
gotten any sleep at all, except I thought of the 
recliner we have upstairs and thought that might 
work well. It worked a charm, and I'll be using that 
to sleep in for a while. 

DH and I did a major clear of the kitchen table yesterday. What a wonderful thing. He was complaining about this or that, but the majority of crap on that table was his ... crossword puzzles still to do, various articles to look further into, etc. Ridiculous. Still, I'm happy with a more cleared table, so it was a win, and he took the trash bags out to the trash bin, so at least he used his brain for once. He doesn't seem to be using it very much, lately. 

I've been loving this product on my 
chapped lips. It holds moisture really 
well. I bought mine at my local Target, 
but Amazon also sells this brand. 

Oh, and I have a product to recommend to all of you. In the winter months, I generally get extremely dry lips with cracking and bleeding. Very painful. Vaseline, as much as I've used it over the decades, really doesn't work well, and in some ways. makes things worse. On a whim, I purchased two different Tree Hut brand Lip Butter tubes from Target a week or so ago. I HIGHLY recommend them. They seem to work SO much better than the multitude of Vaseline-based products I've used over the years. If you don't like your lip balm, give this one a try. 

So, I'm out of here. I thought this would be a really short post because I feel like crap, but I guess I felt the need to unload on all of you - my friends scattered far and wide. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with some powerful antibiotics and a plan of procedure to follow. Slava Ukraini. 

Lymph Glands - Who Thinks of Them Until They Act Up?

I have no idea how it's already so late. I had a restless sleep, but at least got about five hours uninterrupted before the pain crept back in again. As my friend in Missouri figured out (because she's a genius and has gone through similar experiences in her lifetime), it's the lymph gland biopsies that are really causing me the pain. The lymph glands aren't flowing correctly yet, they're still trying to heal this incision and that one, and they're being far too active. That creates a very tender swollen portion under my armpit. ouch! 

This photo (NOT of me - I'm MUCH paler than this person), 
has a good view of swollen lymph glands. I'm not seeing 
any incisions here, so I suspect this one is just an infection. 
Mine is a reaction to the surgery, along with a possible 
infection. I feel like I've got 1/3 of a baseball under my 
armpit that won't go away and hurts! 

I'll be contacting my Breast Cancer center on Monday to find out if my swelling is unique (I'm sure it is NOT), and what they can recommend to get the swelling to reduce. The breast itself feels just fine - no pain at all. The armpit, however, hurts like crazy and, as a result, I'm taking more Tylenol than I'm usually comfortable taking. Choices are limited, however. I can't function if I can't think because I hurt too badly. 

I wish I owned stock in whatever company makes 
Tylenol. It's distributed by Johnson & Johnson, but 
I don't think they actually make the product. Still, 
I'm buying more than I usually would to get through 
this painful healing part. 

Today is a work day. I got a lot done yesterday - went to the grocery store, washed the car (that really doesn't take effort, it's all automatic), cooked a vegetable soup, roasted a Butternut squash, and made a batch of "Ogre Juice". I was completely exhausted by 4:00 pm or so, so went for a lie-down and didn't awaken until after DH had returned home from work. So I had dinner and stayed up for a couple of hours, then went back to sleep and actually got about five hours in before the pain awakened me once again. All in all, I'm considering it a bit of a win, although I do wish I could have slept longer. 

My swelling is quite a bit larger that this drawing, 
but it's the same place and the same cause - excess 
lymph fluid. I'm really hoping this gets under control 
quickly because it's very painful and annoying. 

My ex-fiancee (we're still really good friends) sent me a link to a camera he's got set up on his Colorado ranch. I'll access it later on and watch the sunrise. I know it'll be beautiful. Thanks so much, Seth! So, I'm out of here. Time to get moving and on with my day. Take care of yourselves and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Taking Today for Cooking and Healing

Just a fast post today. I'm here, but I hurt. I worked a full day yesterday, and was totally exhausted, but it needed to be done. Today I'm cooking - I have nothing in my refrigerator for next week's dinners, etc. But cooking really does itself. I'm thinking a nice crock-pot chicken soup, and my Ogre Juice which I'm totally out of. I need my alkagizers. 

I just feel so much better when I'm getting my alkagizers. 
They're not always the tastiest of things, but my body 
craves the nutrients. 

I'll have to call the clinic today and correct one error I had made when they had asked me a variety of questions. I think it was at radiology, but I'm not 100% sure. I'll call them first, though. 

My body is imbalanced because of this 
diagnosis and illness. I'm delighted that 
they found it and are able to treat it, but 
I make a HORRIBLE patient. I obey, but 
I also always push boundaries. 

Extra strength Tylenol and I have become best buddies. I't a LOT better than the high-powered drugs I was taking like water before my hysterectomy years ago, but I don't enjoy being best friends with pain relievers. Still, it's early days since the surgery and I'm most definitely still healing. So anyway ... blah, blah, blah. There's got to be something better to talk about ... but right now I'm being very selfish and self-oriented. Politics still sucks, Trump is still a total Dick, and the world is still revolving around the sun. Please give me some good news from your part of the world to help brighten my day today. Love all of you. Slava Ukraini. 

I Was Attacked by my Bra! I Won, But I'm in Pain

Today I hurt. I purchased several new bras to keep "the girls" stable during healing. The one I wore yesterday was OK during the day, but at night it moved a bit closer to my armpit which features a bunch of stitches from biopsies which were done across the area. By the time the pain awakened me an hour before my alarm was set to go off, I was in serious pain. It's been 2-1/2 hours since I awakened, and I just took a couple of Extra Strength Tylenol. I also tossed both of the bras of that brand/style into the garbage can. I don't need this! Ouch! 

The bra I had on last night was at least at 
inch closer to the armpit than this drawing. 
It actually started shredding the steri-tape 
which is covering the armpit stitches. I get 
the tape removed tomorrow afternoon, but 
I'd much rather my doctor/nurse did it than 
a bra. Besides, it was quite painful! 

I have a different support bra on today, and it's hitting me lower, so no direct impact. After my Tylenol kicks in, I should be OK for the morning. I'm grateful that I see my Doc again tomorrow. I'd love to ditch the steri-tape and the stitches and let things heal on their own. 

Earlier this year we stopped the Fosomax 
prescription because it wasn't working any 
more. We are now doing bone density 
injections every six months. The damned 
things are EXPENSIVE. Thank goodness for 
good health insurance. 

I got the first bill for my bone density infusion injections yesterday. Ouch! The shot itself was relatively painless (she was VERY good), but the actual bill was more than $2000! For something I'll need every six months. Thank goodness for good insurance which has kicked my payment down to approx $350. Still, when I compare the cost of the infusion to the cost of my Fosomax prescription ... no comparison. Of course, the Fosomax isn't working for me any more ... so choices? None. 

Tomorrow morning I start out with an appointment 
with Dr Zachary Wilson, a Radiology Oncologist. 
He specializes in breast and prostrate cancer, so 
I'm hopeful he'll have decent news for me. He'll 
at least present me with the option to do radiation 
therapy. The other major therapy is chemotherapy. 
I don't know if I will be meeting another new 
doctor for that - I suspect it will be the case. 

Tomorrow I start out meeting the Radiologist. One of the questions they had asked me was about bone density, and I think I blew the question off. Well, ... that was probably a poor idea. I'll have to make sure I mention my crappy bones to him. It might affect whether I can have radiation treatment or not. I don't know if I necessarily WANT radiation therapy, but I'm kind of a "Clear out the gun cabinet, load everything up, and let it fly", kind of gal. At least I won't have to worry about losing my hair. Alopaecia took care of that years ago - LOL. 

I purchased a new bottle of Extra Strength 
Tylenol capsules when I started with my 
braces 2-1/2 years or so ago. I don't take 
pain pills often. I took two this morning - 
a clear indication of true pain. Ouch! 

So, I'm going to sit quietly until my Tylenol kicks in, then I'll bundle up for my trip to the shop. It's -14F outside right now, so bundling will be super important. I hope all of you have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow before I move my ass downtown for my various appointments. Slava Ukraini. 

It's a Definite "GO" - Rodney Is Fabulous

Yesterday's meeting with Rodney went really well. We spent more than an hour talking, looking at pictures on my phone, and deciding on a course of action. I have an appointment for June 30th from 10:00 am until ? and we'll see if we can do this in a single sitting, or if I'll need a second appointment to wrap things up. 

I wasn't aware of the changes in tattoo equipment since 
I got my last tattoos in early August 2007, and equipment 
has come a long way in the past 14 years. I guess that's 
to be expected. Look at how your cell phones and computers 
have evolved in the same time span. 

It's been years since my last tattoos and equipment has come a long way. He pulled a few things from his drawer to show me the old electronic coil style applicators vs the newest rotary one which is what he'll use on me. It's really like night a day - such a difference in how the ink is delivered, almost no fighting the equipment to get the lines necessary. It would be a dream to use but both machine have their applications and are still used by most artists. 

It's going to be expensive. When I got my last two tattoos in 
2007, I think it was $100-$200 for each of the two 
designs, but they were small, didn't take more than 30 minutes 
or so each, and I had an apprentice, not the master, 
doing the work. I know the shop owner, at that time, 
was getting $600 or more per tattoo. Like everything else, 
tattoo prices have gone up. 

It's going to be expensive - he's a commercial artist and gets paid for his work and his time. His hourly rate is equivalent to some attorney's rates, or at least not a whole lot of difference. But I didn't walk into this thinking he would be inexpensive. He's an award-winning artist, has been featured in "Ink" magazine a couple of times, and has people flying in from all over the nation to get inked by him. I like the location he's in - it's not as "skanky" as his previous location, the parking will be no-charge in the attached ramp, and it's only about 15 minutes from my home (traffic depending). 

I love my Credit Union. They're located within 
a mile of my house, so I can walk there if I 
decide I'd like the exercise. They're consistently 
rated among the top in the nation, and I've 
been happy with them from Day 1. I'll 
need to phone them to arrange to get the 
cash out of my account. Usually I'd just 
use my cash card, but this will be a bit 
more than a cash withdrawal from a 
money machine. 

He gets paid in cash only, so I'll have to arrange a visit to my bank within the next week or so. I don't have that much ready cash sitting around at home - LOL. I'll be sending him a lot of pictures. I gave him a small downpayment, necessary before he started working on the artwork. He'll have something to me at least two weeks before the 30th (so I'd better get moving on those pics for him), because DH has veto rights on the image, so Rodney may have to do some revisions before we've settled on a final design. 

Pain is relative. What doesn't kill you, might kill 
someone else. So be careful when the urge to 
say "I've seen worse" or "It could be worse" 
hits you. I have no idea how I'll react to getting 
this tattoo, but I really want it. Sometimes wanting 
something this much can be all that's needed to 
push through. That, AND a really great 
artist at the controls. 

Of course the question always comes down to "Won't that hurt?" Well, of course it will. It always hurts to have needles applied to skin. But for me it's well worth it, and I can zen out of a lot of that pain. If I need to tap out after a few hours, it'll be fine. We can pick back up with a second session. No shame. It really doesn't do anyone any good to "push through" unless you're within a very short time of being finished. It's going to be absolutely gnarly, though, and I can hardly wait. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a fabulous Thursday and please, be kind and stay safe. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 42 - CAT Scratch

Yesterday's CT scan was a breeze, in and out within 30 minutes and no claustrophobia or needles. Made my day. Of course, the subsequent followup by my Podiatrist wasn't so great, so what started out as a good day ended up with me in a depressed curl. 

I'm a bit down right now, and the fact that we're cold and rainy outside
today isn't helping. I need blue skies, sunshine and some warm temps
to make up for my darned broken ankle. 

Basically, instead of breakage on two bones - 5th metatarsal and bottom of the fibula, I've actually managed to break five bones. I've also broken a bone in my third metatarsal and have two breaks through my interior ankle. I'm under strict orders to have NO weight bearing on my injured leg for at least six weeks and he actually offered me the option of getting a plaster or fiberglass hard cast if I felt it would be a better alternate for me. But since I'm doing better with the walking cast with my orthotic inserted, I'm going to try and stick with the removable cast. 

I want to be clean, this is NOT my x-ray. My x-ray would
have a break on the right side too. Dr Szopa said he was
quite amazed by how hard I had hit and the damage I had
managed to do to myself. I reminded him that I had fallen
onto a poured concrete floor. But yeah, I did it really well. 

The thing that frightened me was his talk of possible shifting of one of the breaks in the ankle, which would require surgery and pins to stabilize if it happened. That crushed my normal optimism into the depths of black despair for a while. He also mentioned that a knee walker scooter might be helpful but that they were expensive and I probably should also check secondary sellers (I actually ended up ordering a new one from Target for slightly over $100, so not bad). He said I may need to use it for up to eight weeks. 

I'm getting one of these from Target (I hadn't been aware that Target
carried medical equipment, but they do). The slightly more than
$100 I'm paying for this with free delivery beats the $188+ per month
that renting a similar one would cost me through my clinic. The
scooter isn't covered by insurance, so I want to be economical. 

He also requested my permission to pass my records over to his partner, Dr Jorgensen, who specializes in ankles within their department. I gave permission, and shortly thereafter received a phone call to schedule an appointment with Dr Jorgensen for Thursday next week. 

My main concern is work. If we are allowed to open on the 18th (and DH- thinks we'll still be shut down until closer to the end of the month) I'm not sure I could handle crutches and no weight on my left leg while working with customers. So the scooter is going to be at the shop, although it would also be a great help in the kitchen at home. Still, I think it would fit into either the pickup truck or my Mazda so I might be able to transport it from one location to another with relative ease. 

Either way, the cat scratched me and I'm going to be feeling this for a long time to come. I'm a bit spooked by the doctor's words and I'm working hard to find my internal balance once again. I think I'll wrap this up and I'll be back on Monday. Please have a great weekend, right now I'm living through all of your positives to buoy me up. Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. 

Stay at Home - Day 41 - A New Adventure

My Podiatrist wants a better look at my ankle. He thinks there may be something going on with the right side, not just the two broken bones on the left side. So, today I go in for a CAT scan - something I've never done before. I've tried to stay away from these because I have claustrophobia, something that's not recommended for such things. But, I want to find out what happened and what damages I truly did to myself. 

I have claustrophobia, so I'm not really looking forward
to my CT scan. But, I really need the doctor to know
what's going on with my foot, and the x-rays just aren't
clear enough. So I'll punch through it - no choice. 

The Doctor also put me into a new, higher boot. He said the shorter boot is used for foot injuries, but when the ankle is involved, the higher boot is recommended. So I wore that yesterday and was in some serious hurt by the end of the day. So ... 

The doctor upgraded my walking cast to the
taller style that goes just below the knee. He
said the smaller one is great for the foot, but
he suspects the ankle may also be involved,
so wanted the taller support. 

In the middle of the night, I realized a fact that might help my leg pain. I wear prescription orthotics in my shoes to help with Planter's Faschiitis. I haven't had my orthotic in the walking boots. I decided to add the appropriate one to my boot and see if that might not help my foot feel a bit better. 

Late yesterday I had two doorbell rings. The first was my co-worker Chickie and ChickieMama dropping off an offering of fancy cupcakes, mini donuts, chocolate and a "Get Well Soon" card for me. So sweet! It was wonderful to see them again - I've really missed them. The second was FedEx, dropping off my Fluidity Barre, all nicely packaged up in a box. 

I checked eBay first, but shipping on these was more than $100
in all cases, so buying a used one for $250 and paying $100
or more in shipping, vs buying a new one where the shipping
was included in the price ... it was a no-brainer. Now, if I hadn't
crushed my foot, I could clean the den and set up a space today. 

The Fluidity Barre was my present to myself with my stimulus check. Most of the money went to paying down debts, but I've been wanting a barre for working out for a long time. I decided on this one for several reasons (1) the factory was selling rebuilts guaranteed as new for under $400 and with free shipping and all of the workout program materials, (2) it doesn't need to be attached to a wall or anything, and it folds up into a compact thickness, so having it in the room with the treadmill is actually going to work., and (3) a good barre workout is basically a solid isometric workout and I'm hoping will help my muscle groups strengthen. Of course, I hadn't planned on breaking my ankle. I'll probably be able to unpack it and set it up in July. *sigh*

On that note, I'm off to get irradiated by yet more x-rays. I'm going to start glowing in the dark before too much longer. Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home Day 37 - News and Late (Again)

I started the day out at Urgent Care, determined to get an x-ray of my foot and possibly a walking cast. DH had me at the doors of Urgent Care at 7:45 am, and I was the fourth person in line, slowly limping my way to the door to be met by a smiling young lady who asked me if I had checked in at the white tent to the East in the parking lot. Exhausted, I shook my head saying, "No, I thought that was for the Clinic only." 

Fortunately, she took pity on me and said, "Well, I think we can go ahead and check you in here. Let's get you into a wheelchair and let you have a sit." Those were the best words I'd heard in several days. I was ready to fall down and worship at her feet. 

All went as she said - I was in a chair, being moved to check-in, then into an exam room for standard blood pressure (slightly above my normal very nice low numbers) and temperature (excellent), and then I met with a Doctor who referred me to the Radiography Lab for a series of x-rays. After more time, I was back in the exam room and my doctor was pulling up the report of the Radiologist and the photos. OOPS! Yeah! Broken bones. 

I broke the very bottom of the fibula and the first joint of
the little toe (fifth metatarsal). They aren't major breaks,
more like shattering on the ends, but it's breaks, not
just a sprain. Blech!! 

Apparently I broke the bottom of my fifth Metatarsal and the bottom of my Fibula, the red spot I had been concerned about turned out to be arthritis, and I have a serious heel spur. The things you can find out about yourself when you're turned inside out! 

I am currently wearing one of these - an Air Trio Shell
Walker Lot Top with Air Bladders on each side for
extra support and cushioning. I'm really hoping my
Podiatrist will tell me how best to wear this and how
best to use this, as well as how long I have to use it. 

I got fitted for a walking cast, instructed on how to properly put it on and take it off, and sent home with the promise that the Podiatrist would follow up with a Clinic appointment (indeed, they called later and I'm heading back to the Clinic to meet with him on Thursday morning). He's the one who will tell me how long I need to wear the cast, and, hopefully, answer my questions about whether or not I'm wearing it properly or using my crutches properly. 

At 4:45 pm today, my car repair place called and Minion has been fixed. I'll be picking her up early tomorrow morning. I'm going to feel better just having my girl back in her home garage. So, things are looking up ... kindof. Have a wonderful (late) Monday and I'll be back tomorrow afternoon after I've picked up my car and done some errands at work. Stay Safe, Stay Home, Stay Well. 

We Had A Productive Holiday Weekend

I had a lovely Memorial Day weekend, even though I couldn't swim on Saturday and I'm in some serious pain after working in the garden for most of Sunday. Sunday started out with DH and I at Gertens - a nursery that is HUGE. We had been there in the rain the Sunday before, but this Sunday was bright, beautiful, much warmer, and it was packed! It covers acres of land, and the drive in is blocks long, and cars were parked everywhere allowed. We got lucky and found a space in their parking lot, but I heard that later in the day cars extended more than a mile in each direction from the main entrance. 

Gertens is huge. We wandered through the right side and the main
building, but still haven't gotten to the shrubs and trees. Across
the street to the south is their brickyard for landscaping rock and
materials, but we wanted to use Patio Town for our stone. 

We had a specific shopping list, and pretty much stayed with it. On the way out we looked at some flagstone slabs - irregular slabs that DH wanted for our garden. They weren't the right color, though, so after we dropped the plants off at home, we headed over to Patio Town to get stone. 

Patio Town is a local firm for outdoor projects and materials. They're
east of us, near our favorite movie theater, so not too far away. 

We ended up with Wildhorse slabs, and they're quite nice - a soft golden tone that will look wonderful in the garden. I went inside for a short time, but DH was in shortly asking for my help. Four and a half hours later we were done with the job of the day - uncovering all of our buried cables for the internet and the cable TV, gathering them all together into a single bundle, and reburying them along the house. It was a HUGE job - the backyard looked rather like gophers had tossed a graduation party in it after everything was dug up. I'm not sure if my tomato plants will survive the assault. 

Wildhorse is a type of jasper and the stone that isn't
"gem" quality is great for fieldstone because it fractures
in flat layers. It's got a nice warm golden tone to it. 

I was in some serious hurt, so DH did the actual recovering of the cables and filling in the trenches. Then, after a poor night's sleep (pain in my arm kept me tossing, turning, and waking up all night), I awoke to rain. DH went out and started placing stones down, making a walkway that would cover the cables' pathway from the utility pole across the yard. He decided that we needed more stone, so we were off in the rain to Patio Town once again. 

I wish it was this easy. Our house is 50+ years old and we were
digging through old roots of trees, bushes and ferns, a lot
of overgrowth, and various structures like old concrete
pads for non-functional air conditioners. Our trenching wasn't
anywhere this easy (we were also a LOT deeper, up to
two feet deep in places). 

Unlike the day before when their parking lot was full and five forklifts were moving pallets of rock around the yard, we were the only car in a sea of mud, and there was a single forklift driver for the day. I stayed dry while DH chose more rock and had it weighed, they drove the forklift to my car and we headed home. DH spent another two hours in the pouring rain before calling the new walkway good and coming inside for a hot shower. 

I was still in pain when I went to sleep, but I was so exhausted that I had a better night. Still, 3:15 am came early and I'm sitting here, dressed for the machines at the gym. No swimming for me. I'll try to set at doctor's appointment up on my way to work today and hopefully something will be able to help this pain in my bicep tendon. I really miss my swimming, and it may be off the table for months! 

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, and were able to spend some of it with family and friends if you celebrated Memorial Day yesterday. Have a great Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow! 

I Should Be Swimming ... But I'm Not!

It's after 6:00 am on a Saturday morning. In fact, on THE Saturday morning that I've been waiting for months to arrive. Yet, I'm at home, sitting at the keyboard instead of swimming in the outdoor pool on opening day. Why? Because my arm is totally in pain. 

That large red mass is the biceps
tendon, and yeah - it's hurting from
my shoulder to my elbow. I'm supposed
to do gentle exercises and keep strain
to a minimum, also to back away from
exercise that may make things worse
like swimming or tennis. I don't play
tennis, but my body is taking my pool
away from me and I'm NOT happy. 

I've been looking up bicep tendonitis and it doesn't look like an easy fix. But the many articles are quite clear - avoid things that exacerbate the pain, exercise gently, avoid swimming (can you hear my weeping over that one?) and use ice and KT tape. If overworked and strained, it can tear, and if it tears, it will require surgery. Nope - not going to tear this sucker. But, that pulls the pool back out of my workouts and regulates me to machines for most, if not all, of the summer. I'll drop by the clinic on Tuesday morning and set up an appointment with my doctor for after I get back from my early June vacation. It's possible she'll order an MRI just to get a good feel for what we're dealing with here. 

KT tape is the short name for Kinesiology
Therapy tape. It's stretchable tape that
gently helps stimulate or control muscles. It
comes in a variety of colors. I use a hot
pink waterproof tape that will survive
the pool (rather moot now, but it won't be
forever). 

All I know is I was in the pool on Thursday and Friday and it hurts. A lot. I can't swim effectively, and as much as I want to be in the water, I don't want to swim with just one arm. I'm not getting a good workout, and I'm not enjoying my time in the pool. I'm horribly disappointed, it's a kick in the pants. 

I'm very bummed that I can't be swimming right now. But
I'm in serious hurt, and would like to get the pain
under control before returning to the water. Time to
see the doctor and get some options going. 

Oh well, at least I'll get two days off starting on Sunday. In the US, Monday is Memorial Day, so I'll be taking the day off to sleep a bit later. I won't be posting again until Tuesday, so try to be good, try to stay safe, and please be kind. I promise I'll be back on Tuesday morning, probably with tales of our second trip to the garden center. More flowers and additional plants are calling our names. Have a great long Memorial Day weekend! 

Look For The Edge Today

It's a stumbly day already, it's only 4:08 a.m., and I'm already running late. Ridiculous. But the reality is I've got 20 minutes to pull this blog together, plug in photos, and get it posted. Oy! 

The shoulder pain I have is fairly recent, but quite painful and
annoying. It cropped up about six weeks ago and I can't seem
to shake it. I'll probably have to see my doctor about it and see
if it is bone or muscle. 

It's been a 12+ hour of shoulder pain for me, so maybe that's another reason why I'm moving a bit slower today. I've been developing some arthritis or other joint pain in my right shoulder. I think I can pin it down to the angle my body is in relation to my mouse, but I actually can change that - at least at my home computer where my chair has a range of motion. Unfortunately, the chair I use at work is very old and somewhat broken, and the adjust-ability it used to have, is no longer. Come to think of it, the chair is rather reflective of me - my own adjust-ability is also minimized. 

It is hugely important to not lose mental
flexibility. Imagination is to be encouraged
and nurtured, not rounded up and placed
into a cage. 

Of course, this is physical adjust-ability or flexibility, not mental. Although I have been accused of being mental on rare occasions, it is just as important to retain flexibility on both the physical and the mental level. Too much inflexibility mentally and those vast fields from which creativity springs dry up into a small room of white walls and a cement flooring. Boring doesn't suit the human condition - it's something we fight and strain against at every opportunity. 

These red button-up boots are absolutely adorable. Apparently
they are a size 35 and have only been worn once. Available
on Poshmark for $10. I have no idea what size a 35 is, and
I wouldn't wear them, but they are so CUTE! 

So, break out those red shoes today, fling a sweater or light cape around your shoulders or grab that bad-boy motorcycle jacket for your spin to the grocer later today. Walk on the edge of the sidewalk and examine the drainage at the edge of the road for treasures undiscovered as of yet. Allow your imagination to fly wide. It's a good day to soar. 

You never know what interesting things you might
find at meeting points. Here are two sidewalk
edges and I'm totally in love with the colors against
the neutral background of the concrete. Lovely! 

Enjoy your Wednesday. I'll be doing the usual today - grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning. But between it all, I hope to fly a little too - my imagination needs some exercise. I'll be back tomorrow unless I fly into another dimension, in which case I'll try and write a travel-log for all of you. Happy Day for all!